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Building trust in the COVID vaccine—one community’s experience in Pittsburgh, PA

 

Father Paul Abernathy speaking to SRQ Strong in Sarasota County, FL in February 2020

“There's been too much that's too unjust for too long—this vaccine gives us an opportunity to begin to have those conversations on a more serious level,” said Father Paul Abernathy in an interview for NPR 's On the Media.

As the first COVID vaccine is administered in the U.S. on December 15, questions remain who will be vaccinated after healthcare workers and the elderly in living in congregate settings. Public health officials are concerned that people in the communities disproportionately impacted by the virus—Black, LatinX, and indigenous—have less confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine than the general population and therefore, may participate at lower levels. As the Washington Post story “Pastors struggle to spread the vaccine gospel” reports, members of the clergy are key to reaching these groups.

One of those faith leaders who has been working to address vaccine skepticism is Father Paul Abernathy, CEO of the Neighborhood Resilience Project in Pittsburgh.  “Father Paul”, as he is known locally and to others who work with him nationally in the trauma/resilience movement, addressed some of the critical issues related to vaccination in vulnerable communities during “A Dose of Reality,” a segment of NPR's On the Media aired on December 4, 2020 (his interview runs from 16:00-26:08).

8451E020-B295-4FC0-95A0-46B358BDFAEBAbernathy’s experience in leading an effort to encourage people in predominately black and under-served areas to participate in vaccinations was part of the Neighborhood Resilience Project's partnership with the University of Pittsburgh in its Vaccine Collaborative.  The Vaccine Collaborative increased the community's participation in a vaccine clinical trial in just one week from 3% to 8%, a large increase by clinical trial standards. This was done, he said, by enlisting trusted Community Health deputies to share research findings about the vaccine and increase participation receptivity. The Collaborative included weekly meetings of community members and researchers brought together to strategize, plan, and report out on the success implemented on the ground.

Asked why Black Americans are less willing to be vaccinated (32% compared to 50-70% of the general population, according to host Bob Garfield), Abernathy said, based on his conversations in the community, there are three primary reasons :

—"First, would be a history of clinical abuse. Now, I think we can talk about things like the Tuskegee experiment, and the mark that is left on the psyche of the African American community. But we have to go beyond that. Because there's the lived experience of clinical abuse. Even in our own day and age, we can reference the studies about African Americans being less likely to receive pain medication than whites and various other studies around health outcomes and experiences of African Americans in the health care system.”

—"A second reason would be a mistrust of government. People see government involved in the inception and distribution of this vaccine. And as they see that, they also, again, reflect on their experience with the government, many failed government systems in our communities, communities that are under-served ,communities that have, you know, poor education, high unemployment rates, high rates of gun violence. And so it looks as though government policy has failed this community. And so when they see the government involved in a vaccine, there's right away a mistrust of the vaccine because there's mistrust of the government.”

—"And thirdly, I have heard people talk about a mistrust of corporate America, people understand that there are corporations that are developing vaccines. And so there's this sometimes notion that this vaccine is being pushed to make those who are rich richer. Many people who don't have much, they're not so willing to put themselves in a position to receive a vaccine ultimately, to make somebody else rich.”

Host Bob Garfield raised a fourth reason for skepticism about the vaccine related specifically to the University of Pittsburgh’s involvement in gentrification but applies to other university towns and projects. Abernathy said that although universities claim to be places of enlightenment, they often act in ways detrimental to those who suffer the most in the community. He added:  “I think it's also compounded by the fact that there have been historically many researchers who have come into our communities to have conducted countless hours of research, and the results of the that research has served our community in absolutely no way.”

To increase vaccination in under-served communities, Abernathy suggested using trusted places as vaccination sites (where logistically practical) and to coordinate with community leaders who are “essentially opinion leaders who are deputized to become champions of the vaccine.”

Abernathy concluded the interview by saying the COVID crisis response has got be about more than COVID. “It’s got to be about how we not only end the pandemic as relates to this disease, but how we also finally heal the epidemic of racial injustice in our nation,” he said.

The strategies used in Pittsburgh to build an effective COVID vaccine response—bringing trusted community leaders together with others (e.g., those who have particular expertise)—apply to broader efforts to heal communities, all in the context of generations of racial inequality and exploitation that must be recognized and addressed.

To hear Father Abernathy along with Teena Brooks whose work has focused on understanding the impact of structural racism on health, join the CTIPP-CAN (Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice, CTIPP-Community Advocacy Network) on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 2:00-3:30 ET for a segment titled Anti-Racism and the Trauma-Informed Movement (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/742183645, Meeting ID: 742 183 645, One tap mobile, +19292056099,,742183645#).

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